by Ira Tabankin
“General, I took an oath, the same oath you took. I won’t fire on Americans.”
“Can you say the same for the rest of your brothers and sisters?”
“You know I can’t. The President placed his own people in the military’s highest positions. He forced the most experienced officers into retirement.”
“Did it dawn on you why they were retiring the most experienced?”
“I assumed it was because those officers didn’t take to the social engineering the NCA was doing with the military. Allowing openly gay, then transgenders, then they relaxed the physical requirements so that more than half of our combat battalions aren’t combat ready.”
“You’re partially correct, the officers the NCA sacked were also the ones he couldn’t trust not to dispose of him if they thought he was exceeding his authority. He got rid of them before they got rid of him. There were rumors the Joint Staffs were considering a coup to remove the President from office.” General Arthur pauses to drink his water, he looks Captain Black in the eyes, “Captain, very soon you’re going to have to decide which side you’re on. I don’t want to fight you. I will if I have to, I’d rather have you as an ally. Remember, you don’t have to follow illegal orders. You’re not a Nazi.”
“Sir, I swear to you, I will uphold my oath. I’ve decided I won’t follow any order that goes against my morals and any which I deem to be illegal. I won’t fire on Americans.”
“I hope the rest of the military agrees with you. If the military turns against the people, it will tear the country apart. It will be the last straw; it will be the end of America. When freedom dies here, it dies in the world. Look at Europe. The millions of Islamic immigrants have destroyed Europe; they will never be the same. Thousands of years of their culture and history were destroyed within two years. Within a few years, Europe will be part of the Islamic Caliphate. I won’t see that happen to America. I’ve reached out to all of the militia leaders I know, we’re looking into forming our own national leadership, one that returns us to the founders’ idea of the country. A government of the people, by the people and for the people. Most of us are sick of the millions of overlapping laws and out of control central government. We’re sick of having to ask permission to exercise rights granted to us in the Constitution.”
“General, count me in.”
“Good, I think it’s time for you to call in the air strike. Let’s wipe out these cartel assholes and push them all the way back to their home base in Mexico. I hope this time we finish the job, no matter which side of the border their main processing base is located.”
“Yes, sir.”
Captain Black nods to his radio operator who has been holding the mic in his hand. He clicks the mic twice; he calls the two A10s. “A10 flight leader, I have a juicy target for the two of you. Dug in on the west bank of the river at my coordinates are a group of drug cartel thugs. Would you guys please take the trash out?”
“Is this an authorized, live fire mission?”
“Day word is cobra, authorization code is red robin, repeat, day word, cobra, authorization code, red robin. Over.”
“Confirm, day word cobra, authorization red robin. We’re turning on our attack run, on target in three mikes.”
“Roger, we have a forward air controller on site to give you attack assessment.”
“Roger. We have target in sight, will drop GPS guided Mark 82s on our first pass.”
“Roger, try not to drop the bridge.”
“You want us to drop the bridge?”
“You heard me, negative on dropping the bridge.”
“We heard you, making our first run, now, now-now!”
Six loud explosions block out the communications.
A new voice breaks into the communications link.
“A10 flight of two, this is FAC Sergeant Brian Wilson, solid hits, can you guys make another run, using the same coordinates?”
“Roger, two mikes.”
Six additional explosions echo off of the river.
“A10 flight of two, on target. Good shooting. Can you another run with your guns?”
“We live for gun runs, coming around now.”
The surviving Cartel members look up at the noise of the two airplanes, many of their friends are dead, the remaining men are bleeding out of their ears, none can hear anything. They point up at the planes, one yells,
“The devils cross!” Which the A10s shadow looks like.
Fire blooms from the nose of the two planes. The A10s seem to pause in midair as their cannons fire milk bottle sized 30mm rounds tear the ground and surviving cartel members to shreds. The 30mm rounds were designed to kill tanks, they had no problem tearing apart the Cartel’s dug in positions and command centers.
“A10 flight leader to FAC Wilson, we still have some napalm, want it?”
“Thanks, guys. Always! I love the smell of napalm in the morning, drop it.”
The two attack planes each drop two tanks of napalm on the Cartel positions. The sticky gasoline spreads across their positions setting everything and everyone under the flames on fire.”
General Arthur smiles, he looks at Captain Black.
“Captain, shall we check the opposite river bank? See if any assholes survived? It looks like we’re going to have a bunk of crispy critters to dispose of.”
“Yes, sir, with pleasure.”
Chapter 9
Jay opens his eyes to see Lacy sitting in their room’s sole chair. She removed the small clock on the night stand, so he has no idea of the day or time.
“Jay, did I wake you?”
“I’ve been up for a little while; I was lying here with my eyes closed thinking about the future. How long was I asleep?”
Lacy smiles as she moves to sit on the bed, “Jay, you slept for fifteen hours, the doctor told me not to wake you. How are you feeling?”
“Will it sound funny, if I say I don’t know yet. Did I miss anything important in the past fifteen hours?”
“Not too much. When you’re feeling a little better, we need to have a chat about Ricky.”
“Shit, what’s the jerk done now?”
“It can wait until you’ve had your morning coffee.”
“Is it still morning?”
Smiling Lacy pats Jay on the top of his head messing up his hair.
“Honey, it is for you. I’ll help you get cleaned up and dressed. We’ll go to the cafeteria. I happen to know the cook is going to make you anything you want. After you’ve had breakfast, we’ll talk. Can you slide your legs over the side of the bed?”
“Yeah, if you help me I can stand. I’ll be able to shower and get dressed. Just give me twenty minutes.”
“I don’t trust you not to fall. I’ll come with you to the baths. Let me get you a pair of jeans and a shirt.”
“I’m getting up. Other than feeling weak, I’m feeling okay. Are you sure you can’t tell me what Ricky has done now? It must be really something special if you want to wait until I have coffee. Can you give me a hint? Did he break something important? Did he hurt someone? I don’t know why I tried to wipe the slate clean with him. He’s incurable.”
“Honey, let’s discuss it after you have some food in your stomach.”
“Did he shoot someone? You’ve got to tell me, or at least, give me a hint. God, there are times I wish I never invited him to join us. I couldn’t figure a way to invite our daughter and granddaughter without him coming too. “
“Jay, I promise, after breakfast I’ll tell you everything.”
“Lacy, I smell a rat, a big fucking rat. Come clean with me, what did he do? Who did he do it to and where is the asshole?”
Lacy helps Jay wash and dress, she guides him to the cafeteria where most of the shelter’s people are waiting for him. As Jay enters, they stand and applaud him. Many come up to him, patting him on his back and telling him they’re sorry about Ricky. After the sixth person says their sorry about Ricky, Jay looks into Lacy eyes.
“I think s
omething very bad happened and it’s time I know since it appears I’m the only one who doesn’t know what my son-in-law did. If you don’t tell me, I'll find my daughter and ask her.”
“Go ahead, she won’t tell you. It was agreed that I would be the one to tell you.”
“Yeah, everyone knows I won’t do anything to you. It can’t be too serious; the shelter is still standing. Counting heads, I think everyone is here except for Sammi and Linda. So he didn’t kill anyone.”
The people who overhear Jay cover their mouths. He looks at Lacy shaking his head.
“Shit, I know he did something really bad. Aren’t you the one who tried to force us to bury the hatchet and get along? Remember, I tried. I really did.”
“I did and I was wrong, I should have never interfered in the relationship between the two of you. I’m sorry. Look, the cook made your favorite, here’s a stack of pancakes. And a large mug of coffee. You need your energy, eat. I want to see you finish all of your pancakes before we have a serious discussion.”
“No bacon?”
“It’s coming, I know you like it extra crispy.”
Everyone in the room looks in Jay’s direction, anyone could tell they’re all sitting on pins and needles waiting for Lacy to tell Jay about Ricky.
After wolfing down his breakfast, Jay leans back in his seat, sipping his third cup of coffee. He looks Lacy in the eyes and whispers,
“I’m ready, tell me what he did. I promise I won’t blow up and kill him.”
Lacy leans to whisper in Jay’s ear.
“Honey, I couldn’t tell you when you first woke up. You had a meeting with the militia. I was going to tell you right after the meeting, but, you fell asleep. Please get a hold of yourself. Ricky is the one who tried to kill you.”
“What the FUCK?!” Jay stands up, he begins turning around looking for Ricky, “Where is he? He’s done, someone bring the little ass to me.”
“That’s what I was afraid of. Please calm down.”
“My son-in-law tried to kill me?”
“Yes, he poisoned you with potassium.”
“Shit, he took my potassium I use for leg cramps and put it in my coffee, didn’t he? Where is the asshole? This is the last straw. I’ve had it with him. I tried to patch things up with him, God knows, I really did. I tried to sweep the past under the carpet and start over again. He used me. He knew I was trying to put our past behind us, he used that to get close enough to poison me. I want to see him right NOW! Get him here right NOW! Lacy, I’m not kidding. I want him standing in front of me right now! I’m going to put an end to his bullshit once and for all. I’ve done everything I could to cut him a break.”
“Jay, calm down, remember the doctor warned you not to get your blood pressure up. Please try to stay calm. Don’t get upset. Your heart not’s strong enough for this level of excitement.”
Jay growled in a low, angry voice, “Bring him to me.”
“Jay, we had a trial. Tony oversaw the trial, Ricky admitted his crime. The community voted to banish him. He’s gone. Gone as in banished. Before you ask, Sammi and Linda are still here.”
“Lacy, you kicked him out? Wasn’t anyone worried he would tell the first person he met everything he knows? He could lead who knows who back here. He knows how to open the door from the outside. Did John change the entry code? Did anyone tag him so we can keep track of where he goes?”
“Jay, one thing at a time, I’m going to ask John and Tony to join us, I’m sure they can answer all of your questions and concerns.”
Jay stands up, Lacy helps stabilize him, he looks around at everyone. Jay raises his voice so everyone can hear him.
“I slip into a small coma and the first thing you do is banish my son-in-law?”
People put their heads down, afraid Jay’s upset with them.
“You did good! I might have killed him and lived to regret it the rest of my life. I’m not angry. I think you did what had to be done. You did what I should have done a long time ago.”
Everyone exhales the collected breaths they are holding. They smile and nod at Jay. Jay walks table to table exchanging short comments with everyone. Ten minutes later an exhausted Jay sits down, where he’s joined by John and Tony.
“I see you're still in the cast.”
“Only a couple more days. I’m happy you’re not upset with what we did with Ricky.”
“I’m good with it. Please tell me the security code was changed so he can’t easily open the door and you tagged him before you kicked him out.”
John nods and smiles,
“Jay, of course, we did. Do you think we’re morons? We changed all of the entry codes. We tagged him, here’s a tablet, you can see he’s around five miles from us, he hasn’t moved in hours. We’re keeping a close eye on him. We changed anything he could tell someone. I’ve installed additional cameras covering the approaches to our rear door and the front doors. We’ve laid mines on the path he used to leave, if he or anyone tries to retrace his footsteps, they’ll get a nasty surprise. We’ll know if anyone tries to sneak up on us before they get close enough to do us any harm.”
“I knew you guys were good. Thank God.” Lowering his voice to a whisper, Jay asks, “How’s everyone taking it?”
“They’re fine with it. They voted to banish him. Ricky admitted he tried to kill you, everyone voted for banishment. The only dissent was a few who wanted him shot. I personally escorted him out the rear emergency door.”
“Tony, John. Thank you. You took care of a nasty mess. You took out my trash. I owe both of you. I might have killed him.”
Tony looks at his friend, he places his good hand on Jay’s shoulder, “if you killed him, you’d never have forgiven yourself. You’d have killed the father of your granddaughter. You’d have lived the rest of your life regretting it.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. Have you decided what you’re going to do with the town’s people?”
“If we’re going to be supporting the local towns, we’re going to need to expand the farm. With enough bodies, we can clean the western land, cut down the trees; we can use the wood for additional buildings. The extra bodies will enable us to level the land and make it ready for planting. We’re going to need to more than double our yield. I’d like to get the project started as soon as we can move back top side.”
Tony and John nod to each other. Tony smiles,
“Jay, we’ve been ready to move back top side for a day. We were waiting for you.”
“Shit, why didn’t you say so? Let’s get everyone’s ass out of here. I want to feel the sun on my skin.”
Tony stands, yelling, “We’re going home! Everyone pack what they want to bring. We leave in thirty minutes. The shelter reverberates with the cheers of the forty families, seven soldiers, and three militia members.
Minutes later with the families already in a line at the front door, everyone is happy to be returning to the surface. They make room for Jay and Lacy to be the first in line. Jay looks at his friends.
“Are we ready to go home?”
“YES!”
“Then let’s go home!”
Jay enters the codes which opens the third door, he overrides that the door must be closed before the next opens. All three doors open, allowing the bright sunlight to flood into the shelter. The families cheer the sun. The bright sunlight hurts their eyes, one of the teens hands out sunglasses to all who forgot their own. The families begin running out of the shelter to their homes, cheering all the way.
Chapter 10
The ISIS troops holding Ricky urinate on his face to wake him up. He opens his eyes and shakes his head.
“What’s that smell?”
“You passed out, you’re not worth the water to wake you, so we pissed on you. You’re back with us, now we can continue our little discussion. Before you passed out, we were discussing how we are going to get the truth out of you.”